Discovering Maison Christian Dior fragrances
Discovering Maison Christian Dior fragrances. My week could not have a better start: a special meeting at the Dior corner of the new and elegant Rinascente in my city, Turin, to discover the exclusive collection of luscious perfume by Maison Christian Dior. During the morning spent together with Stefania, the Dior consultant with an unquestionable preparation (both in the history of all the olfactory compositions and in the details and raw materials behind each one of them), I discovered some really interesting aspects. Christian Dior states since 1947, the year of his first (and revolutionary) fashion show, the desire to be not only Couturier but also Parfumeur. In fact, on the occasion of the launch of the New Look he also presented Miss Dior, his very first fragrance! Passionate about flowers, Monsieur Dior later decided to buy a holiday home in Provence to escape the frenzy of Paris. Due to the climate particularly suitable for flowers growing, he chose the countryside if Grasse. Right there, at Château de la Colle Noire, he began to cultivate his May rose and his jasmine, some of the high quality raw materials that are the theme of the Maison Christian Dior fragrances collection.
Dior and Rinascente give the opportunity to anyone interested in discovering this world, to go to the boutique for a personalized session with an expert who’s there to tell and share what distinguishes Dior fragrances and makes them unique… Keep reading to find out all about my experience!
Maison Christian Dior fragrances at La Rinascente Turin
The Maison Christian Dior collection consists of 22 fragrances designed by François Demachy, Dior’s maître-parfumeur since 2006. Twenty-two celebrations of Monsieur Christian Dior’s life, hobbies, vices, virtues and superstitions, but also snapshots of youth and travels of Demachy himself, grown not by chance in Grasse and, for this reason, tied to the flowers and the raw materials dear to Dior.
Now let’s speak about my experience at Rinascente. Stefania introduced herself asking me what my favorite fragrance is and, as a matter of fact, I replied that I prefer rose-based floral fragrances! Casualness has it that rose is the iconic flower of the Maison Christian Dior, both as a flower and as a color (along with the gray). Demachy also loves this flower: we find the Damask rose or the Grasse rose in almost all the fragrances, in the heart, in the head or in the bottom, precisely because it is the symbol of this company.
So our journey to discover the fragrances Maison Christian Dior started with Holy Peony: launched last spring in London, it is a combination of rose and peach designed by Demachy to derive the delicacy of the peony flower, combined with a background of white musks and woods.
Each of the fragrances in the collection tells, as I mentioned before, an emotion, a story, an event. Grand Bal is one of Stefania’s favorites: it is inspired by a masquerade ball Monsieur Dior attended in Venice in 1951, at Palazzo Labia. At the party were present various personalities of the international jet set, including Salvador Dalì: it is said that Dali was dressed Dior, while Dior was dressed Dalì, in the sense that the two artists had designed each other’s looks! Demachy was inspired by this event to create a sumptuous fragrance, in which the Grasse jasmine predominates in an absolute manner over the rose and a sandalwood base. The ideal fragrance for those who love jasmine, which can be fully perceived. A more fresh and fruity jasmine, instead, characterizes Jasmin des Anges.
Coming back to rose perfume, Stefania introduced me to Rose Kabuki: a very delicate rose, with notes of white musks. A caressing, delicate, sensual but at the same time evanescent fragrance, just like the immaculate faces of Japanese theater actresses. Speaking about Japan, we have also a fragrance called Sakura. Daniela asked me to close my eyes and imagine being at the Royal Palace in Kyoto on a spring day, walking on a carpet of cherry blossoms. This flower is recreated with notes of pink ylang ylang, harmonized with a bitter almond base which gives a sweet and sensual scent to the perfume.
Another fragrance dedicated to Grasse rose is Rose Gypsy, a more intense fragrance than Rose Kabuki but still delicate. This is because the maître-parfumeurs teach that an olfactory masterpiece is not measured in the intensity of the trail it releases, but in the persistence on the skin and in the perfect union that it must give with it. In addition, of course, to the emotion it gives!
Walking along the row of elegant little bottles in pink color, Stefania made me arrive towards more spicy and oriental notes with Dioramour. One of the most sensual fragrances in the collection: we also have the delicacy of white musks and then the iris, for a poudré fragrance that must recreate the trail of perfume that is left on the white sheets. This is absolutely one of my favorite fragrances of the whole collection!
Staying on the spicy fragrances we have Spice Blend. Last in of Maison Christian Dior fragrances, is characterized by a note of Martinique rum and inspired by a memory of Demachy’s adolescence, and in particular a potion that his father, a pharmacist, made in his pharmacy in Grasse. It was a potion made with rum and spices like ginger and black pepper, which reminded him of an exotic country.
We come now to La Colle Noir, or to the perfume inspired by the estate in Grasse where Monsieur Dior cultivated and took care of this particular type of rose. It is a rose that has an almost fruity, honeyed scent, much more delicate than the other rose dear to the maître-parfumeur Dior, the damask rose which is more full-bodied and sensual.
The damask rose is the protagonist of Oud Ispahan. A fragrance appreciated by those who love oud, made even more sensual by this flower. Vaporising it brought back to my mind a vivid and clear snapshot: the smell you feel when you walk in the souk!
Another very intense perfume is Fève Délicieuse, with a fruity note of pear, vanilla, tonka bean and, again, damask rose.
Now we come to Bois d’Argent, one of the first creatures of the Maison Christian Dior collection. Notes of incense, resinous notes of white musks and the absolute of Iris: this is a very precious material that does not release immediately with the act of vaporising the fragrance, but it develops slowly warming up with the skin. It is certainly a woody fragrance, with a poudré note that keeps it fresh and delicate.
Ambre Nuit celebrates the combination of rose and amber: the scent of ambergris, of animal origin (and therefore more sensual), is combined in this fragrance with the sensuality of the rose.
Iconic is the New Look 1947 fragrance: as I anticipated, this is the date of the first Christian Dior show, made in an opulent and floral fragrance based on tuberose, rose and jasmine, which was to remind the corolla skirts with a very thin waist designed by Christian Dior. Daniela recommended it to me as an evening perfume and I agree with her: it’s really very, very elegant!
Another iconic fragrance is Gris Dior. Monsieur Dior identified gray as the most elegant color par excellence and here Demachy tried to recreate that mix of shades from white to black with a floral heart of jasmine, top notes of citrus bergamot and a base of oak moss and patchouli. A floral and sweet fragrance, but not too sweet. This also leaves a trail of elegance, in my opinion.
Belle De Jour is a fragrance inspired by the homonymous film starring Catherine Deneuve in 1967. The story tells of a girl married to a rich performer: the two love each other madly but have no intimacy: she’s so bored that begins to work by day in a dating house. A very risqué film for that time. The fragrance has a fruity scent of crunchy pear, combined with the delicate and sensual damask rose.
Stefania asked me, finally, to imagine a summer day in Panarea, when you need to take refuge from the scorching heat sitting in the shade of a fig tree: this is exactly what comes to mind by vaporizing Balade Sauvage on the skin, a fragrance based on fig and citrus fruits. Very intense!
In Italy, Maison Christian Dior collection is available at Rinascente Duomo in Milan, Rinascente Tritone in Rome and now also at Rinascente Torino. It also includes candles, liquid and solid hand soaps and creams.
The corner is really beautiful and, in addition to the products, you will see the white, round or square boxes that make up the packaging of the Maison Christian Dior line, decorated with ribbons and sealing wax seal: small attentions that, for me, really do the difference!
I sincerely thank Elena and Nicoletta from the Dior team for this wonderful and interesting experience!
Want to know which perfumes I brought home? Obviously Dioramour and New Look 1947, in addition to the rose soap!
See you soon here on the blog with new posts! Happy weekend you’ll!
